Timeline

Key events in the Mueller investigation

By Masood Farivar and Lynn Davis | VOA News

The sprawling Russia investigation that has dogged President Donald Trump predates both the November 2016 election of the billionaire businessman and the May 2017 appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.

It began in July 2016 when the FBI, suspecting Moscow of orchestrating a campaign to change the outcome of the election against Democrat Hillary Clinton and in favor of Trump, opened a counter-intelligence investigation.

As former FBI Director James Comey later testified, the FBI wanted to determine “the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.”

Well into 2017, the FBI remained in charge of the effort. But when Trump abruptly fired Comey in May 2017 over what he later called “the Russia thing,” Mueller was appointed to lead an independent probe into the affair.

In March 2018, Mueller concluded his wide ranging probe by submitting a final report to the attorney general that outlines why he charged certain individuals — and chose not to charge others — in connection with his probe. What follows is an account of key events in the investigation in reverse chronological order.

June 25, 2019

Mueller To Testify After Subpoenas

Former special counsel Robert Mueller agrees to appear before the House judiciary and intelligence committees on July 17, after the two panels issued subpoenas for his testimony. Mueller has said he’ll stick to his written report during any congressional testimony. Read more…

May 29, 2019

Mueller steps down

Outgoing special counsel Robert Mueller says charging President Donald Trump with obstruction of justice was not an option his office could consider under a long standing Justice Department policy. In his first public comments since his appointment, Mueller defended the two-year-long Russia probe and said he would not go beyond his final report if he were to testify before Congress. The former FBI director said he was resigning from the Justice Department to return to private life. Read more…

May 8, 2019

House Judiciary Holds Barr In Contempt

The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department’s refusal to turn over an unredacted copy of the Mueller Report. The White House called the committee’s subpoena for the Russia investigation materials “a blatant abuse of power” and said neither the White House nor the attorney general will comply with it. Read more…

April 18, 2019

Mueller report released

The U.S. Department of Justice releases a redacted version of the nearly 400-page report of special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are expected to subpoena the Justice Department for the complete report. Read more…

April 10, 2019

Barr: “Spying did occur”

Attorney General William Barr says that “spying did occur” against President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, echoing an oft-repeated assertion made by Trump. Barr made the comments during a Congressional budget committee. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Barr’s comments “directly contradict” what the Justice Department has said. Read more…

March 29, 2019

Barr to release redacted Mueller report by mid-April

Attorney General William Barr says he’s preparing a redacted version of the Mueller report and will be in a position to release it by mid-April, if not sooner. Barr made the pledge in a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate Judicary Committees after House Democrats gave him until April 2 to release the full report. But Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committeee, said the deadline stands and demanded that the attorney general release “the full and complete Mueller report, without redactions” as well as provide access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. Read more…

March 24, 2019

Mueller finds no evidence of Trump collusion with Russia

Special Counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence that President Donald Trump or his campaign conspired with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, according to a four-page summary of Mueller’s findings released by Attorney General William Barr. While Mueller drew no conclusion on the question of whether Trump obstructed justice in the course of the investigation, Barr said in his letter to Congress that he and his No. 2, Rod Rosenstein, determined there was not enough evidence of obstruction of justice by Trump. Read more…

March 22, 2019

Robert Mueller concludes Russia probe, submits final report

Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivers his final report to Attorney General William Barr, concluding a wide-ranging probe that has sharply divided Americans and cast a shadow over President Donald Trump’s first two years in office. In a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate judiciary panels, Barr pledged transparency about the report and said he intended to consult with Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “to determine what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public…” Read more…

March 19, 2019

Documents show Cohen probe began in July 2017

The Justice Department releases search warrant applications related to the investigation of Michael Cohen, showing investigators for the special counsel had trained their eyes on the former Trump lawyer as early as July 2017, much earlier than previously known. The records show prosecutors were interested in money flowing into Cohen’s bank accounts from consultant agreements he’d obtained after Trump’s victory. The documents were released in response to a request by several media organizations. Read more…

March 13, 2019

NY prosecutors hit Manafort with new charges

Prosecutors in New York City unseal criminal charges against Paul Manafort shortly after a federal judge in Washington sentenced him to 43 months in prison. The 16-count indictment by a Manhattan grand jury appears designed to forestall the possibility that Manafort will receive a pardon from President Donald Trump. The president can’t issue pardons in state cases. Read more…

March 13, 2019

Manafort receives second sentence

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., sentences Paul Manafort to 43 months in prison on charges of conspiracy and witness tampering stemming from the special counsel investigation of Russian election meddling. The sentence is on top of the 47 months Manafort received last week in a separate, financial crimes case in Alexandria, VA., meaning President Trump’s former campaign chairman faces a total of 7.5 years in prison. Manafort will receive credit for the nine months he’s been held in jail since he was accused of seeking to influence two witnesses’ testimony. Read more…

March 7, 2019

Paul Manafort gets 47 months

A federal judge in Alexandria, VA, sentences Paul Manafort to 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud, far less than the 19.5 years to 24.5 years recommended under federal sentencing guidelines. Judge T. S. Ellis of the Eastern District of Virginia said he found the guidlines “excessive.” The relatively light sentence sparked a debate about disparity in federal sentencing. Read more…

March 4, 2019

House judiciary panel launches sweeping Trump probe

The House Judiciary Committee opens a sweeping investigation into alleged obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power by President Donald Trump, his associates and members of his administration. The committee sends document requests to 81 individuals and entities linked to Trump. The recepients include the president’s eldest son, Don Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The committee’s newly installed Democratic chairman, Jerrold Nadler, accuses Republicans of abdicating their responsibility to conduct oversight of the administration while they were in power. The alleged transgressions under investigation are all impeachable offenses. Read more…

Feb. 27, 2019

In Congressional testimony, Cohen details hush money payments

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s disgraced former lawyer, testifies in public before the House Oversight Committee, providing details of hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign and claiming Trump knew in advance about a controversial June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower between Trump advisers and Russian operatives. Cohen provided the committee with a copy of a $35,000 check personally signed by Trump in August 2017. In all, he said he received 11 checks to reimburse him for the hush money to Daniels to keep her from revealing an alleged affair with Trump. Another one of the checks carried the signatures of Don Jr and Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, implicating both men in the hush money scheme. Read more…

Feb. 19, 2019

Trump nominates Jeffrey Rosen as deputy attorney general

Trump nominates Jeffrey Rosen as deputy attorney general. If confirmed, Rosen, currently the deputy secretary of transportation, would take over from outgoing DAG Rod Rosenstein who appointed the special counsel and oversaw his Russia investigation. However, while running the department’s day-to-day operations, Rosen would not be in charge of supervising the investigation, which is currently being overseen by newly confirmed attorney general William Barr. Read more…

Feb. 17, 2019

McCabe: Justice officials considered Trump’s ouster

Ousted FBI acting director Andrew McCabe confirms reports that top Justice Department officials considered invoking a constitutional amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office after Trump abruptly fired as head of the FBI in May 2017. In an interview with the CBS ”60 Minutes” program, McCabe also says that after Comey’s firing, he ordered the FBI to investigate whether Trump sought to obstruct justice and was acting on behalf of Russia. Trump tweeted that McCabe was “a disgrace to the FBI and a disgrace to our Country.” Read more…

Feb. 14, 2019

Barr confirmed as attorney general

The U.S. Senate confirms William Barr as Trump’s new attorney general. Barr, who previously served as attorney general under former president George H. W. Bush, assumed oversight of the Russia investigation from acting attorney general Matt Whitaker. During his confirmation hearing, Barr pledged to lawmakers to provide “as much transparency as I can” on the final report by special counsel Robert Mueller. Read more…

Feb. 13, 2019

Judge says Manafort lied to investigators

A federal judge presiding over Paul Manafort’s case says the former Trump campaign chairman lied to the special counsel investigators, breaking a plea agreement he reached last year when he pleaded guilty to two charges. Judge Amy Berman Jackson says Manafort lied to the FBI, the grand jury and prosecutors about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, a former Manafort associate suspected of ties to Russian intelligence. The ruling deals a blow to Manafort’s chances of receiving leniency at sentencing. Read more…

Feb. 8, 2019

Whitaker: I have not interfered in the Mueller probe

Acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker says he has not interfered with the special counsel investigation of Russian election meddling. Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, the outgoing head of the Justice Department also said he had not discussed the probe with the White House. But he declined to say whether he considered the investigation a “witch hunt,” Trump’s favorite epithet for the probe. Read more…

Feb. 7, 2019

Manafort-Kilimnik meeting at “heart” of Mueller probe

A special counsel prosecutor says a 2016 meeting in New York between former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Manfort associate Konstantin Kilimnik “goes to the heart” of the Russia investigation. The disclosure, made during a court hearing in Washington, D.C., suggests the special counsel has zeroed in on interactions between Manafort and Kilimnik, who is suspected of having ties to Russian intelligence. Prosecutors also revealed during the hearing that Kilimnik traveled to Washington in January 2017 to attend Trump’s inauguration.

Jan. 28, 2019

Whitaker: Mueller probe is wrapping up

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker says the Mueller investigation is “close to being completed” and that he hopes he can get the special counsel’s final report “as soon as possibe.” The comments, made at a press conference, represented the first official indication that the probe may be wrapping up soon. The special counsel’s office declined to comment. Read more…

Jan. 27, 2019

US lifts sanctions on Deripaska firms

The Trump administration lifts sanctions on three Russian firms tied to Oleg Deripaska, the Putin-linked oligarch whose interactions with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in 2016 drew the special counsel’s scrutiny. Emails obtained by prosecutors show Manafort sought to ingratiate himself with the billionnaire Deripaska by offering private briefings on the campaign. No evidence has emerged that that Deripaska solicited and received any such briefing. Read more…

Jan. 25, 2019

Roger Stone indicted

Long-time Trump friend and associate Roger Stone is arrested by FBI agents in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, following an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. The indictment charges Stone with one count of obstruction, five counts of false statements and one count of witness tampering in connection with his September 2017 congressional testimony about his alleged contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign. He is released on $250,000 bail. Read more…

Jan. 23, 2019

Cohen calls off Congressional testimony

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen calls off a planned Feb. 7 Congressional testimony because of what he called “ongoing threats agains his family” from Trump and Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s current lawyers. Trump called Cohen a “liar” while Giuliani told CNN that Cohen’s father-in-law “may have ties to something called organized crime.” Read more…

Jan. 18, 2019

In rare move, special counsel dismisses news report

In an unprecedented move, the special counsel’s office disputes a news report that President Donald Trump had directed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a proposed real estate project in Moscow. BuzzFeed News reported that the special counsel learned about “Trump’s directive for Cohen to lie to Congress” through interviews with witnesses and internal Trump Organization records. In a statement, Peter Carr, a spokesman for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, called BuzzFeed’s reporting “inaccurate.” Trump applauded the unusual statement while BuzzFeed said it stood by its story, which had spurred Democratic calls for an investigation. Read more…

Jan. 16, 2019

Giuliani contradicts Trump on campaign collusion

President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tells CNN that he’s never denied the Trump campaign colluded with Russia but that Trump himself was not involved in collusion. The comments made a stir because Trump has always denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Moscow. Giuliani later released a statement to clarify his comments, saying he had “no knowledge of any collusion” between the campaign and Russia.

Jan. 15, 2019

Rick Gates sentencing delayed

Prosecutors ask for a delay of at least two months in the sentencing of former Trump campaign deputy chairman Rick Gates, saying Gates is continuing to cooperate with “several” ongoing investigations. Gates last year pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and later testified at former campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s trial. Read more…

Jan. 15, 2019

Barr says he’ll allow Mueller to complete Russia inquiry

Attorney general-nominee William Barr reassures lawmakers during the first day of his confirmation hearing that special counsel Robert Mueller would be allowed to complete his investigation. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr said he didn’t believe Mueller “would be involved in a witch hunt.” Read more…

Jan. 11, 2019

NYT: FBI probed Trump after Comey firing

The New York Times reports that the FBI grew so alarmed by President Donald Trump’s behavior after he fired that it launched an investigation into whether Trump was secretly working on behalf of Russia. Trump later dismissed the report, saying, “I never worked for Russia.” But Jerrold Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said the panel will look into the report.

Jan. 9, 2019

Rod Rosenstein leaving Justice Department

Officials and associates of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein say Rosenstein plans to leave the Justice Department after President Trump’s new pick for attorney general, William Barr, is confirmed by the Senate. Rosenstein’s expected departure adds to worries about the independence of the Mueller investigation. Read more…

Jan. 8, 2019

Supreme Court rules in subpoena fight

The Supreme Court rules against an unidentified foreign corporation fighting a subpoena believed to have been issued by a grand jury in the Mueller investigation. Read more…

Jan. 8, 2019

Manafort shared polling data with Kilimnik

A new court filing shows that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort shared campaign polling data with his former business partner Konstantin Kilimnik, who has been linked to Russian intelligence. The filing, which Manafort’s lawyers failed to redact properly, also revealed the former lobbyist had discussed a Ukrainian peace plan with Kilimnik. The revelations represent the latest evidence of communication between Trump associates and Russians during the 2016 election. Read more…

Jan. 8, 2019

Russian lawyer indicted

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who attended the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting with members of then-candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, has been charged with obstruction of justice in a case that is unrelated to the special counsel probe but underlines her ties to the Kremlin. Read more…

Jan. 4, 2019

Judge extends grand jury term

A federal judge extends the term of the Russia investigation grand jury by up to six months. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has used the grand jury to subpoena witnesses and documents and to bring indictments against more than 30 people. The grand jury, impaneled in July 2017, was set to expire on Jan 6. Read more…

Dec. 20, 2018

Whitaker rejects recusal advice

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker decides not to recuse himself from the Russia investigation despite a Justice Department ethics official’s advice that he step aside over his past criticism of the probe. A Justice Department official tells reporters that Whitaker was not required to recuse himself despite an appearance of a conflict of interest. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein continues to have day-to-day oversight of the investigation, the official says. Read more…

Dec. 18, 2018

Flynn sentencing delayed

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., delays sentencing for former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. in December 2016. The surprise move came after Judge Emmett Sullivan sharply criticized Flynn and his lawyers for insinuating in a sentencing memo that the FBI had tricked the retired general into lying. Sullivan said “I can’t hide my disgust” for Flynn and signaled an inclination to send him to prison despite the special counsel’s recommendation that Flynn serve no time. Read more…

Dec. 16, 2018

President Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, says Trump will not sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors. “Over my dead body, but you know, I could be dead,” Giuliani tells Fox News when asked if Trump would submit to a sit-down interview with prosecutors after having provided written responses to questions in late November.

Dec. 14, 2018

Trump, Cohen spar over hush money payments

President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen tells ABC News that Trump knew it was wrong when he ordered Cohen to arrange the payment of hush money to an adult film star and a former Playboy model shortly before the November 2016 election, but that Trump was concerned news of another alleged affair would adversely affect the election. “I’m done with the lying,” said Cohen. The day before, referring to Cohen, President Trump told Fox News, “I never directed him to do anything wrong” and that the Cohen payments were “not a campaign finance violation.”

Dec. 12, 2018

Federal prosecutors reveal an agreement with National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc. signed in September acknowledging AMI paid $150,000 during the 2016 presidential campaign to a woman, now known to be former Playboy model Karen McDougal, to ensure she would not disclose “damaging allegations” of an affair with then-candidate Donald Trump. AMI admitted the payout was made in consultation with and “at the request and suggestion of one or more members or agents of” the Trump campaign to prevent McDougal’s claims from influencing the election. Under the agreement AMI will not be prosecuted for related crimes.

Dec. 12, 2018

Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to covering up hush money payments to two women on behalf of Trump and lying to Congress about a proposed Moscow Trump Tower project. Cohen tells the federal sentencing judge that “blind loyalty” to Trump led him “to cover up his dirty deeds.” Read more…

Dec. 7, 2018

Federal prosecutors in New York recommend a “substantial” prison sentence for former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. In a separate court filing in the same case Special Counsel Robert Mueller says Cohen has provided “useful information” about matters “core” to the Russia investigation.

Dec. 4, 2018

Special Counsel Robert Mueller recommends that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn receive no prison time because he has provided “substantial assistance” to several ongoing investigations. Read more…

Dec. 3, 2018

President Donald Trump tweets that his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, should “serve a full and complete sentence” for his crimes. Read more…

Nov. 29, 2018

Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal in order to “minimize links” between the project and Trump during the 2016 presidential election. Read more…

Nov. 28, 2018

President Donald Trump tells the New York Post during an Oval Office interview that a pardon for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is “not off the table.”

Nov. 7, 2018

Trump ousts Session as attorney general

Sept. 14, 2018

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleads guilty to federal charges of violating foreign lobbying laws and cheating the IRS brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and enters into a “cooperation agreement” with prosecutors. Read more…

Sept 7, 2018

Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos is sentenced to 14 days in jail after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI. He reports to prison on November 26. Read more…

Aug. 21, 2018

Cohen pleads guilty

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleads guilty to campaign finance violations and other charges, saying Trump directed him to make hush money payments to two women during the presidential campaign. Read more…

Aug. 21, 2018

Manafort convicted on eight felony counts

A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, finds former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort guilty on eight felony counts: five tax fraud charges, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud. A mistrial is declared for 10 other charges. Read more…

Aug. 1, 2018

President Trump calls on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, which he terms a “Rigged Witch Hunt” in a Twitter message. Read more…

July 16, 2018

Trump meets Putin

At a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, President Donald Trump appears to side with the Russian leader and refuses to condemn Russia for its interference in the U.S. presidential election. Read more…

July 13, 2018

Twelve Russians indicted for hacking DNC

A federal grand jury indicts 12 Russian military intelligence officers for their role in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and leaking hacked emails and documents. Read more…

June 8, 2018

Special Counsel Robert Mueller announces a superseding indictment in Washington, D.C., against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business partner Konstantin Kilimnik, accusing them of witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

April 9, 2018

February 23, 2018

Special Counsel Robert Mueller unseals a superseding indictment in Washington, D.C., dated February 16, 2018, against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, alleging he “secretly retained a group of former senior European politicians to take positions favorable to Ukraine, including by lobbying in the U.S.”

February 23, 2018

Gates pleads guilty and promises to cooperate

Rick Gates, former Trump campaign deputy chairman and business associate of Paul Manafort, pleads guilty to two criminal charges and agrees to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

February 22, 2018

A grand jury in Alexandria, VA, returns a 32-count superseding indictment against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates, accusing them of financial crimes.

February 20, 2018

Dutch attorney indicted

London-based attorney Alex van der Zwaan pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about his interactions with Rick Gates, former Trump campaign deputy chairman and business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Read more…

February 16, 2018

Thirteen Russians charged with conspiracy

A federal grand jury charges 13 Russians and three Russian companies with orchestrating an online influence operation during the 2016 presidential election.

Nov. 30, 2017

Flynn pleads guilty to lying to FBI

Former National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about his discussions with the Russian ambassador during the Trump presidential transition in a plea agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Oct. 27, 2017

Manafort and Gates indicted

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates, former Trump campaign deputy chairman, are indicted on conspiracy and money laundering charges in connection with their lobbying on behalf of Ukraine, a Ukrainian political party, and a former president of Ukraine. Read more…

Oct.5, 2017

Papadopoulos pleads guilty

In a plea agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to lying to the FBI about his efforts to put the Trump campaign in contact with Russian officials.

Sept. 26, 2017

Trump friend and former campaign adviser Roger Stone testifies before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, denying collusion with Russia or advance knowledge of the hacking of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails.

August 2, 2017

Mueller authorized to investigate “colluding” with Russian officials

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein writes memo to Special Counsel Robert Mueller specifically stating Mueller is authorized to investigate former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for “colluding” with “Russian government officials” to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

August 2, 2017

Trump signs Russia sanctions bill

President Trump signs into law a bill passed by the U.S. Congress confirming sanctions against Russia for meddling in the 2016 presidential election “shall remain in effect” and providing other sanctions for other Russian activities including “evasion of sanctions.”

July 27, 2017

Papadopoulos arrested for lying to FBI

Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos is arrested for lying to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his foreign contacts during the campaign.

July 11, 2017

Donald Trump Jr. releases statement and email chain leading up to the June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting in which he wrote, “I love it,” when told by music promoter Rob Goldstone that the Russians had damaging information on candidate Hillary Clinton.

July 8, 2017

The New York Times reports on the June 9, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower when Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The three had been told they would receive damaging information about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

June 23, 2017

After months of casting doubt on U.S. intelligence agency assessments that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, President Trump’s tweet appears to confirm the interference.

Summer 2017

Special Counsel Robert Mueller removes FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page from his team after discovering they had exchanged derogatory texts about President Trump.

June 14, 2017

Mueller expands probe to include obstruction of justice

The Washington Post reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has expanded his probe to investigate President Trump for possible obstruction of justice.

June 8, 2017

Comey says Trump urged him to drop probe of Flynn

Fired FBI Director testifies before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the circumstances leading up to his dismissal. He said that President Trump at one point asked him to drop the investigation of former National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

May 17, 2017

Rosenstein appoints Robert Mueller to lead Russian investigation

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Robert Mueller as Special Counsel to oversee the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

May 12, 2017

President Trump’s lawyers say his tax returns do not indicate any Russian income or debt — except for $95 million paid for a Trump estate in Florida and $12 million for the Trumps’ Moscow Miss Universe pageant in 2013.

May 9, 2017

President Trump fires Comey

President Trump fires FBI Director , citing Comey’s handling of the FBI investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

May 3, 2017

Comey testifies before Congress

In what turns out to be his last congressional testimony as FBI director, evades a question about whether President Trump might be a target of the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

March 20, 2017

FBI Director publicly confirms for the first time during a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing the existence of an FBI investigation into connections between the Trump campaign and Russian officials which started in late July 2016.

Jan. 11, 2017

Trump acknowledges Russian interference in election

In a news conference, President-elect Trump for the first time admits Russia interfered in the election saying, “I think it was Russia.”

Jan. 10, 2017

Sessions denies communicating with Russians

Senator Jeff Sessions, testifying during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general, says he “did not have communications with the Russians” during the campaign.

January 6, 2017

U.S. intelligence agencies release a declassified version of their assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered a covert campaign to disrupt the U.S. presidential election.

January 6, 2017

Comey briefs Trump about Steele dossier

Top U.S. intelligence officials brief president-elect Donald Trump on their assessment of Russian interference in the election. FBI Director briefs Trump on the Steele Dossier, a collection of memos about alleged Russian efforts to interfere in the election prepared for the Democrats by former British spy Christopher Steele.

Dec. 30, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump praises Russian President Vladimir Putin on Twitter for not retaliating after the U.S. imposed sanctions and expelled Russian diplomats.

Dec. 29, 2016

Obama sanctions Russia for hacking

The Obama administration expels 35 Russian “intelligence operatives” and imposes sanctions on Russian government agencies, companies and officials in response to alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election.

December 2016

Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, meets Sergey Gorkov, chairman of Russia’s government-owned Vnesheconombank. The bank is under sanction by the U.S. government. The White House says the meeting is routine.

December 2016

Kushner proposes back-channel communications with Russia

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner meet Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower. Kushner proposes setting up back-channel communications between the administration and the Russian government. Sources close to Kushner indicate the only focus of this would be Syria.

Week of Nov. 28, 2016

Selected senators reportedly receive a closed-door briefing from the Central Intelligence Agency about intelligence which suggests Russia’s aim was to elect Trump.

Nov. 8, 2016

Trump scores stunning presidential victory

November 2016

Russian offers Trump camp “political synergy”

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen speaks with a Russian who offers “political synergy” with the Trump campaign and proposes a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read more…

Oct. 13, 2016

WikiLeaks says it “has never communicated with Roger Stone as we have previously, repeatedly stated.”

Oct. 7, 2016

The Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issue a joint statement saying they are confident the Russian government was behind the Democratic email hacks. WikiLeaks publishes thousands of emails stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s Gmail account.

Oct. 3, 2016

Trump friend and adviser Roger Stone tweets that he has “total confidence” that WikiLeaks and his “hero Julian Assange” will deliver more damaging information on Democrats.

Sept. 8, 2016

Sept. 6, 2016

Intel chiefs brief congressional staff about Russian hacking

FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and National Security Agency reportedly provide a classified briefing for congressional staff about Russian hacking.

Aug. 21, 2016

Roger Stone tweets about second WikiLeaks email dump

Trump friend and adviser Roger Stone hints at a possible WikiLeaks release of hacked emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, tweeting “Trust me, it will soon [be] Podesta’s time in the barrel. #CrookedHillary.”

Aug. 19, 2016

Trump campaign chief Manafort resigns

August 2016

Trump friend and adviser Roger Stone exchanges Twitter messages with “Guccifer 2.0,” an online persona created to disseminate the hacked Democratic emails as part of a Russian disinformation campaign.

Late July 2016

FBI launches probe of Russian interference

The FBI launches a counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the election.

July 27, 2016

“Russia, if you’re listening….”

During a press conference, presidential candidate Donald Trump says, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” in a reference to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server. He later says he was joking.

July 26, 2016

The New York Times reports “American intelligence agencies have told the White House they now have ‘high confidence’ that the Russian government was behind the theft of emails and documents from the Democratic National Committee…”

July 22, 2016

WikiLeaks releases first trove of stolen DNC emails

The website WikiLeaks releases the first trove of tens of thousands emails and other documents hacked from the Democratic National Committee.

July 7, 2016

Trump campaign adviser Carter Page takes one of several trips to Moscow, drawing the interest of the FBI.

July 5, 2016

Comey warns Clinton’s emails may have been hacked

FBI Director announces at a news conference he recommended no criminal charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified information on her private email server. He says, “It is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal e-email account.”

June 15, 2016

Hackers believed to be affiliated with the Russian government and posing as “Guccifer 2.0” claim credit for breaching Democratic National Committee computers.

June 7, 2016

Presidential candidate Donald Trump announces he is going to give “a major speech” the following week to discuss “all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons.” The speech is moved to June 22 because of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

June 3, 2016

Donald Trump Jr., receives emails from music promoter Rob Goldstone suggesting a meeting with a “Russian government attorney” who has derogatory information on presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. They later agree to meet on June 9.

September 2015

Trump, Cohen mull over meeting with Putin

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen confers with his boss about ”contacting the Russian government before reaching out to gauge” its interest in a possible Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Late 2015

British sound the alarm

British intelligence agencies alert U.S. counterparts to communications between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian spies.

Aug. 8, 2015

Roger Stone, a long-time friend and adviser to Donald Trump, leaves Trump’s campaign team after a couple of months, but vows to support the candidate.

Summer 2015

Russian “Cozy Bear” penetrates Democratic computers

Hackers believed to be linked to the Russian government and known to cybersecurity experts as “Cozy Bear” penetrate Democratic National Committee computers and have access until at least June 2016, according to U.S. intelligence community. Others in U.S. government are targets.